November reminds me of Harry Potter, as it was often the month to witness another film in theaters. While there are websites like Pottermore to quench my muggle thirst for more magical moments, I want to introduce you to another awesome site— one that engages kids and uses Harry Potter toward social and environmental justice.
The HARRY POTTER ALLIANCE (HPA) is a nonprofit whose mission is “to empower [its] members to act like the heroes that they love by acting for a better world.” They do this by partnering with other organizations, raising funds and encouraging everyone to use their magical creativity.
I’ve never seen such an awesome idea for connecting pop culture with social change. While adults can also get involved, the Harry Potter angle gears the site toward a younger audience—mainly teens and college kids—opening their eyes to a range of world issues. More importantly, the HPA (a self-proclaimed army of “fans, activists, nerdfighters, teenagers, wizards and muggles”) empowers its fans to take action in a variety of creative ways.
For example, children and teens across the world create real “Dumbledore’s Armies” and take action in their own communities. Some HPA chapter projects have included: organizing book drives, collecting food for food banks and doing magical acts of kindness. Find a chapter in your area or start your own.
Since 2007, the HPA has led over 40 campaigns against real world Dark Arts such as illiteracy, bullying and inequality. Some HPA campaigns include:
The HPA’s fair trade chocolate frogs.
- Accio Books! An annual drive that donates thousands of books to local communities and schools.
- Not in Harry’s Name: Starvation Wages Horcrux. A campaign petitioning Warner Brothers to use fair trade chocolate in its Harry Potter merchandise. Supporters collected over 16,000 signatures including Potter movie actors Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood). The HPA even created its own line of fair-trade chocolate frogs. Fans and supporters participated by sending Cease and Desist letters or creating Video Howlers.
- Challenging Walmart (the largest private employer in the world) for its poor treatment of workers and for muscling smaller stores out of business. Check out this HPA-produced video spoof that went viral: Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Waldemart.
When you join the HPA, you also get to choose your House and compete for the House Cup. Ravenclaw reigns as the current House champion after the 2013 Accio Books! campaign.
Not a fan of Harry Potter? The HPA also joins forces with fans of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Firefly, Glee and others for the HPA’s Imagine Better Project, which uses pop culture and social media to create social change. One current campaign is #estherday (August 3), a day of acting from love.
The Harry Potter Alliance was co-founded by my friend’s roommate, Andrew Slack, a man I’ve never met but whose ingenuity I admire. I hope the HPA is around for a long time because it’s the kind of conscious organization that Harry Potter fans like my daughter can latch onto to satiate their ongoing desire for more.
